In A Matter Of Seconds
by Dreaming of dance
Summary: When a devastating bus accident threatens the lives of the students in Retroville, the gang has to deal with the harsh reality of the event, and possibly losing each other. One shot.  JimmyxCindy and a bit of SheenxLibby. Read please.


Hellooo there. So, I came up with this one shot earlier in the week and couldn't help but write it even though I have three other stories I'm working on...heh. I decided to try something a little different than my other stories in the sense of there being some action and having the story mostly to do with the drama of it( still plenty of romance in there though). It's rated T for some slightly graphic images, but honestly blood grosses me out so I can tell you it's not that bad. There is some terminology explained in the author's note for anyone who doesn't know what some terms may mean. This is the longest one shot I have ever written and I hope you enjoy it :) I have gotten pretty attached to it.

I don't own Jimmy Neutron

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><p>It only takes a moment, a few seconds that can change everything.<p>

_The blaring sound of a horn being pushed with urgency and alarm, was followed by a crash. The sound of metal hitting metal was loud enough that the few screams that filled the bus were barely heard. The next few seconds all seemed to go by incredibly slow and fast at the same time as the large vehicle skidded out of control on the black concrete until it came to a stop; leaving broken off debris in its wake. Then everything was still silence. _

"C'mon students hurry up the bus is waiting." Mrs. Blake called out to her high school freshman science class that was following her. They were going on a field trip to a space museum.

"Does she have to be so loud? It's eight in the morning." Sheen groaned, wiping at his tired eyes.

"Sheen it's too early, stop the complainin." Libby scolded him.

"Maybe if you hadn't stayed up all night to watch the Ultralord marathon then you wouldn't be so tired..." Carl stated.

"Hello! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Sheen exclaimed.

"Just because the show is canceled-"

"Don't say that!" As Sheen and Carl bickered back and forth, Libby rolled her eyes before glancing at the two people behind them and gave them a suspicious look. Over the past couple of months or so, their arguing seemed to be diminishing and replaced by bickering that bordered along the lines of flirting. Whatever it was that was happening between the two they weren't being very public about it. Although she had caught them holding hands a couple of times.

"This time can you try not to correct the tour guide every time he opens his mouth?"

"It's hard not to when he doesn't give the correct details."

"Yes we all know that big brain of yours knows more than he does but you don't have to be a show off."

"I'm not being a show off."

"Says who?

"Says me."

"All I'm saying is that it would be nice to go to a museum and not get asked to leave."

"That was a one time thing! Must you always bring it up?"

"Only when I'm trying to get on your nerves."

"Then what's your excuse for the other ninety five percent of the time when you're getting on my nerves." Cindy shoved him playfully and he shoved her back. Jimmy smiled at her and she turned away so he wouldn't see her blushing.

The students made their way out of the school, gathering in front of the bus. The weather was threatening rain as the clouds in the sky were gray and looking heavy.

"Okay students, lets get into the bus before it rains." Their teacher instructed.

"Sit with me?" Sheen said to Libby as he put his arm around her shoulders. Libby looked back to Cindy again with an expression that asked if it was okay. Now that her and Sheen were dating she didn't want Cindy to feel like she was being blown off. Cindy chuckled at her friend's cautiousness.

"Go ahead! You don't need my permission. I can deal with Neutron for an extra half hour." Jimmy rolled his eyes, but didn't mind the idea of sitting with her. He wouldn't say it out loud but he was quite fond of her company.

Carl was already making his way onto the bus to sit with another student. Against what was usual for the gang, they were all split up on the bus. Carl was near the back, Libby and Sheen in the middle, and Jimmy and Cindy a few rows in front of them. Just as the yellow school bus took off from the school it started to rain.

Despite the weather, the students on the bus were grateful that they didn't have to be in school today. Each was taking part in their own activities. Brittany was gossiping with Nissa, Libby was listening to her ipod while leaning her head on Sheen's shoulder. Carl was being lulled to sleep by the rain. Nick Dean was busy flirting with the girl in the row behind him, and as for Jimmy and Cindy, well, what else would they be doing?

"It's been nearly five minutes and you're already talking my ear off Neutron."

"Fine then Vortex, since you're being such a pain, I just won't say anything at all." The teenaged genius turned his head so that he was facing the window to his left, leaving Cindy to stare at the back of his head. She was stubborn at first and crossed her arms over her zip up sweater, but then felt bad and didn't like the idea of him ignoring her. She put her hand gingerly on his arm.

"I was only kidding Jimmy." She said so only he could hear.

"Sure."

"I was. I like to hear you get all excited about scientific facts...it's kinda charming. In an 'I like nerds' sort of way." He turned back around to face her, with a smirk on his face.

"Are you admitting that you like me?" Cindy suddenly felt a little frazzled at how the conversation had turned on her and true to her character she was tripping over her words at the subject. She looked anywhere but his face.

"Uh...I mean...you know I...um." Cindy brushed her hair behind her ear before finally getting the courage to look at him.

"What I'm trying to say is...I do like..." Cindy's green eyes suddenly widened when she focused in on the image through the tear stained window behind Jimmy's head.

"Truck..."

"What?"

The crash came before she could explain any further, and that's when the chaos began. Glass from the windows blew out as the force of the hit sent students flying out of their seats. Other students held on as best as they could as the bus slid across the road from the impact and the slick street of the intersection. The bus violently shook as it went over a curb and finally slowed to a stop when landing on grass.

The first thing she faintly heard were sirens that got increasingly louder as she regained consciousness. She winced at the noise that was mixed in with students in distress.

"Nobody panic! Stay where you are! The paramedics are coming!" She heard Mrs. Blake yell out. Cindy winced as she used her arms to push herself off of the floor of the bus. Glass fell from her body as she got herself to her knees. For a moment she couldn't remember what happened until it all came rushing back to her, and then she was in a state of urgency. She heard her name being called out and frantically looked around, trying to ignore the students who were crying out in pain.

"I'm right here. Are you okay?" Jimmy said as he crouched down next to her. She was relieved at the sound of his voice and took his hand as he helped her up.

"Yea, I think so..." When she was all the way up she looked up to him and gasped.

"Jimmy... there's a gash on your head..." She said with concern. Above his right eyebrow was a nasty looking cut and blood trickled down the side of his face. He dismissed it, more concerned if she was okay.

"It's fine, it's just a superficial wound. Looks worse than it is." He inspected her trying to conclude what the damage was and saw blood splotched all over the right arm and front of her pink sweater.

"You're bleeding..." Cindy followed his gaze to her arm, cringing at the sight and smell of fresh blood. She rolled up her sleeve, but didn't see a wound. She swallowed.

"Jimmy... I don't think it's mine." Cindy looked at the ground to see another student laying face down next to where she had been.

"Oh my god..." Now she couldn't help herself but look at the damage. Students who weren't seriously injured were in a frenzy trying to help those that were. was attempting to keep track of where everyone was. Cindy scanned the bus to see fellow classmates that were unconscious, or worse.

"Cindy look at me."

"Where's Libby, Sheen and Carl! We have to find them, what if-" He put his hands on both sides of her face and forced her to look him in the eyes.

"Listen to me. You have to stay calm, okay? We have to make sure that they're unharmed. If they are injured and you're freaking out it's going to make matters worse. You're braver than I am Cindy, so you're going to have to pull it together." She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay." She held onto him as they traveled to the back of the bus. As they stepped over bodies they looked for the familiar faces of their friends.

"Libby!" Cindy called out hoping she would answer.

"Cindy?" Her voice was muffled among the commotion, but still there.

"Libby where are you?"

"Follow the sound of my voice!" Libby tried to say as loud as possible. She sounded hysterical. As quickly as they could, the two of them moved toward the middle of the bus where the truck had collided with the vehicle. Jimmy caught sight of Libby's purple shirt through the mess of people.

"There." He indicated and they reached where she was. Libby was sitting on the floor of the bus, her leg twisted at an awkward angle. Cindy immediately was by her side.

"I'm so happy you're okay..." Libby tried to say cheerfully even though she was crying. "I think my leg is broken... I can't move..."

"Shh it's going to be all right, I heard the ambulance arriving." Cindy tried to sooth her although it killed her to see her best friend in pain.

"Where's Sheen? He was sitting next to you." Jimmy asked her. Libby sniffled before letting out more tears and nodded her head in a direction. At first Jimmy didn't realize how they didn't see him with him being in such proximity to where Libby was, until he saw his body strewn haphazardly across the seat. The genius cringed at the sight of all the blood. From the indent in the metal of the bus, Jimmy could tell that Sheen took a good portion of the impact of the crash. Taking his own advice to be calm was proving to be difficult now that Sheen looked to be in such bad shape.

"He won't wake up..." Libby said sobbing. "Is he...dead?" In the background the paramedics and firefighters had entered the bus and were getting students out as quickly as they could.

Jimmy leaned over to put two fingers against Sheen's throat to feel for a pulse.

"His heart is still beating. He needs help though. Now."

"Hey we need some help over here!" Cindy yelled to the approaching paramedics. Jimmy intercepted one when he got to them.

"My friends are hurt. She has a broken leg and he has what I presume to be major injuries." Jimmy explained while gesturing to each of them. The paramedic called more help over and delegated them to assist Libby and Sheen.

"What about you two?" He said pointing to Cindy and Jimmy.

"We're fine, we can walk, help the others."

"You still need to be checked out at the hospital, make your way outside of the bus and to the ambulances." Jimmy nodded and lead Cindy out of the way of the paramedics.

"I'll be right behind you Libby." Cindy said letting go of Libby's hand as she was taken away.

"Cindy. Jimmy." They turned around to see Carl coming toward them holding his shoulder and met him the rest of the way.

"I'm so relieved to see you." Cindy emoted as Jimmy was already looking to see what was wrong.

"What happened Carl?"

"My scapula. I mean it this time though." Jimmy asked him to move his hand to view the injury.

"Your shoulder is dislocated. C'mon we all have to get out of here, try to bare through the pain Carl."

They got out of the bus to see ambulances surrounding the area. The rain still came down as students were being carried on stretchers. They heard a man talking to another paramedic.

"The breaks failed, and I couldn't stop, there was nothing I could do! The bus was already in the intersection, I was going to hit it either way!" The three looked to the action to see the apparent truck driver explaining what had happened. Cindy was stalking over to him before Jimmy or Carl could stop her.

"The breaks failed? That's your excuse? My best friends, among others, are hurt and maybe dying! And all you can say is that your damn breaks failed!" Jimmy pulled her away from behind as she got in the guys face. The middle aged man looked at her with sorrow.

"I'm sorry, I really am-"

"Sorry doesn't take it back!"

"You two, contain your friend, and get yourselves to an ambulance." The female paramedic ordered them and lead the man away in the opposite direction.

The ambulance ride felt like the longest ten minutes of their lives. When Carl, Jimmy, and Cindy were ushered into the Emergency Room it felt like they were going from one devastating setting to the next. Doctors rushed around to help the students who were already there. The hospital was ridden with so much havoc that the room was filled with white noise. Only a few phrases coming from doctors were sticking out to them every now and then.

"There's more of them? We're running out of space and hands." A doctor relayed to another.

"She's not breathing, we need to intubate."

"Blood pressure is dropping get him to an OR."

There was so much going on that the three of them just stood there not knowing what to do with themselves.

"We can't just stand here..." Cindy announced while in a daze. Being in there was worse than being at the scene of the accident. There were so many of them injured, bleeding, or in critical condition. Despite how disturbing it was she couldn't look away.

"Agreed, let's try to find Libby and Sheen in this mess." Jimmy answered. Even Carl was so distracted by the chaos that he wasn't paying attention to his shoulder anymore.

They pulled their eyes away from the trauma and maneuvered through the hall, checking each curtained room for either Libby or Sheen. Sheen was no where to be found, but they came across Libby being examined by a doctor.

"You said you would be right behind me!" Libby animatedly scolded Cindy when she came into view.

"Miss you need to keep your leg still." Her doctor was a young woman who looked to be in her late twenties.

"I'm sorry, we got distracted." Cindy, Jimmy and Carl stayed at the foot of the bed Libby was lying on as to not get in the doctor's way.

"Have you seen Sheen?" Carl asked as the doctor scribbled something onto a chart.

"They took him away to surgery..." Libby started to get upset all over again.

"They're gonna fix him Libs, he'll be driving us all crazy again in no time." Not that Cindy knew for sure that was true, but she hoped for Libby's sake that she believed her.

"I'm going to send you in for X rays, then you're going to get your bones reset. You should be able to leave in a couple of hours."

"Bones reset..." The idea sounded painful.

"It will be as quick as possible." The doctor turned to Jimmy, Cindy and Carl.

"Have you three been examined yet? I'm guessing from the cut on your head that you haven't." She was referring to Jimmy who hadn't given his injury a second thought. The doctor stood up and walked passed them to the hallway.

"Hey, I need some extra help over here." She called out to her fellow workers, although they were all too busy to hear her. She stopped another staff member that walked by.

"Hey I have three more kids here that haven't been examined yet."

"I already have four, sorry." She sighed and went to a desk and grabbed some paper before returning.

"I'll just take care of you all. Who's first?" She said as she put one of the papers on the clip board.

"Carl you go." Jimmy directed.

The female doctor jotted down his name and information onto the chart and Cindy went to go talk to Libby who wasn't handling the situation as well as the others.

"Cin, I'm scared..." Cindy put her hand over Libby's.

"I know, but you're going to go get your leg fixed, Sheen's going to come out of surgery, and we're all going to be just fine. If we can get through the dangerous predicaments that Neutron gets us in, then we can get through this too."

"Hey! None of you have died because of my inventions."

"Yet." Cindy said while rolling her eyes. Libby smiled a little at the normalcy of Cindy and Jimmy's interactions wherever they were.

"All right you are all set, you can go with your friend to get X rays as well." The doctor announced and was able to get a nurse to take them, leaving Jimmy and Cindy alone with the doctor. Jimmy looked at Cindy expectantly.

"May I help you?"

"Yea, go sit down, and let the doctor do her job."

"No, you go. I'm not the one with the cut on my forehead, or do you want to leave it there to draw more attention to your over sized cranium?"

"Now is not the time."

"Then stop wasting mine, and sit the hell down."

"She's right you're going to need stitches for that, and there are tons of other people here that need medical attention, so have a seat." Jimmy listened to the doctor and sat down annoyed at Cindy's stubbornness. Cindy watched on as the physician cleaned the wound and she shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot when she got a syringe filled with liquid.

"To numb the pain." The doctor said while Jimmy clenched his jaw as she injected it. Cindy flinched as she sewed up his face, and looked away until it was over.

"I want you to get a CAT scan just incase, but your brain seems to be functioning just fine." After Jimmy had left there was nothing else for Cindy to do but let the doctor examine her. The blonde stayed quiet as the doctor checked out her bruises that were now becoming a dark purple.

"I'm by the way." She said, breaking the prolonged silence. Cindy simply nodded, looking in the direction Jimmy had left. She didn't like that she was suddenly alone.

"So... is he your boyfriend?" Cindy was taken back by the question and got flustered as she answered.

"No! Uh...what would give you that idea?"

"You two fight like a married couple."

"That's just...the way we've always been..."

"He likes you too." Her emerald eye's looked hopeful.

"You think?"

"Oh yea, it takes a lot for a guy to suck it up as someone puts needles into their open wound."

"I guess that's true."

"What is?" Jimmy questioned upon his return.

"Oh nothing." Cindy dismissed, and stood up.

"I'm going to go see where I'm needed. Stay here until I come back." She closed the curtain before retreating. Jimmy sat down next to Cindy and sighed deeply.

"Looks like it's just you and me." She half smiled at his words considering the circumstances.

"It always seems to end up that way." Her eyebrows crinkled together giving her a forlorn look.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried. Why did this have to happen? We always get into danger, but none of us have ever gotten hurt, so why now? Why are we okay, while Libby, Sheen and Carl aren't?"

"I don't know...I don't have the answers to everything."

"But you're supposed to...you always save us before anything bad can happen..." She stared up into his eyes with grief.

"Cindy...I know it's my job to make sure everyone is safe, but I couldn't have prevented something like this..."

"I know and I'm not blaming you. This isn't supposed to happen to us..." She looked away, caught in her own thoughts.

"Hey..." He reached out to graze her cheek with the back of his hand. "It's going to be just fine, like you said." She leaned into his touch, and pivoted to face him. She let go of her inhibitions and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face into him. He was caught off guard at first, but then his arms embraced her.

"If you were in Sheen's place, I don't know what I would have done..."

"What do you mean?" He anticipated.

"I can't afford to lose you..." She tilted her head up and his deep blue eyes were looking back at her. He leaned in while they both tilted their heads to the right. The sound of a curtain opening threw off the moment.

"Am I interrupting something?" Dr. Foster inclined as Jimmy and Cindy jumped apart from each other. They both turned red from embarrassment.

"You can both be discharged and wait for your parents to come get you." They stood up trying to pretend nothing had occurred prior to the doctor's interruption. Jimmy took a couple steps ahead before realizing that Cindy wasn't following him.

"Are you coming?"

"I feel kind of..." Her eyes rolled into the back of her head before she collapsed onto the tile floor. Jimmy stood there like a statue as everything started to go in slow motion for him. Doctors hurried by him, and he watched on frozen as they lifted her onto the bed and hooked her up to a heart monitor. The continual beep made him feel like his own heart was stopping.

"She's coding." Dr. Foster grabbed shock paddles and applied them to her chest.

"Clear." She shocked her and her body convulsed but the monitor still showed a straight line going across the screen. She shocked her body again and this time the beeping was slow and irregular. Jimmy vaguely recalled her speak about having to cut her open before she was carted away. He felt his chest tighten, and he found it hard to breathe. For the first time all day, he felt like his world was crumbling.

It was quiet save for the monitors, his footsteps and voices outside of the room. He was cautious not to make any noise as he walked up to the hospital bed. Regardless of her appearance she looked peaceful. Her pale skin contrasted with the bruises on her body. The IVs that were stuck in her forearm, and the tubes in her nose that were hooked up to oxygen, made him feel uneasy. She was sleeping soundly, but he was dying to see her whether she was awake or not. Jimmy gently put his hand on her leg over the blanket that was covering her, causing her to stir. Slowly she opened her eyes, keeping them half lidded.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Cindy tried to smile even though her body was exhausted.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." Her voice was soft, showing how much energy was drained from her. It had barely been twenty four hours since the accident.

"How are you feeling?"

"I've been better. I can't really feel anything with all the morphine they are pumping into me. How's Carl, Libby and Sheen?"

"Carl and Libby are both resting at home. Sheen is a couple rooms down from you. The doctors said that he will take a long time to heal, but he should make a full recovery."

"And you?"

"My parents made me go home. They said I wasn't paying attention to human needs such as eating and sleeping." He had dark circles sitting under his eyes.

"You don't look like you got any sleep at all. Not like I can talk, I look like I was hit by a truck. Oh wait..." He didn't respond and stared blankly at her.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood. What's wrong?" He ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head.

"What's wrong? You died! I watched as they tried to bring you back to life after your heart literally stopped beating." He was having trouble containing his emotions.

"But-"

"Do you know what that felt like? I just stood there not able to do anything while you were dying. How could they not have detected what was going on? How could they just take you away from me." His voiced cracked and Cindy realized that he was tearing up.

"Jimmy, as a scientist you know it's not their fault. I was in shock from the accident. My body was pumping me with so much adrenaline I couldn't feel the full extent of my injuries. There was no way for anyone to know that I was bleeding internally until it was too late."

"_I_ should have known! I was with you the entire time, I should have figured that there was no way that the only injuries you could have sustained were a few scrapes and bruises." She had never seen him so worked up before.

"Please don't tell me that you're blaming yourself for this. I'm still here...no one is trying to take me away..."

"But they did! They took you into some operating room without even explaining what was going on. I didn't think you were going to make it..." He angrily wiped at his eyes. "You went from perfectly fine to dead in less than ten seconds..." Cindy took his hand in her own, trying to calm him down. She guided it over to her chest and over her heart.

"You feel that? It's still beating Jimmy...I'm not going anywhere..."

"Don't you understand?" She had never thought that she would ever see Jimmy cry, and now that she was she couldn't help but tear up herself.

"I can see where you could have been scared-"

"Scared? Try terrified." He sniffled and Cindy became desperate to get him to calm down.

"Come here." With the strength that she had left she tugged on his arm bringing him closer until he was leaning over her. She placed her hands on both sides of his face, much like he had done to her yesterday. She wiped at his tears with her thumb; it was hard to see him like this.

"Please stop crying Jimmy...I didn't know that this would bother you so much."

"You're still not getting it."

"Getting what?" He paused to place his left hand on her neck, then kissed her. He kissed her as if she was going to disappear, as if this was the last time that he would ever see her. He didn't care how awful the timing was, or how out of the blue his outburst of feelings were. He didn't let it being their first kiss hold him back from exploring every aspect of her mouth. He wasn't always good with expressing how he felt with words but he hoped she would understand what she meant to him through his actions. When he finally pulled away, they were both out of breath.

"You're lucky I'm hooked up to an oxygen machine, or I think I would have passed out from that."

He chuckled and rolled his eyes at her. For a while they smiled at each other until Jimmy could tell that now she was even more exhausted and looked like she was feigning sleep.

"You're tired, you should take a nap." She wanted to object, but she was already having trouble keeping her eyes open.

"Stay with me? Just until I fall asleep?"

"That wont be very long."

"Please?" He couldn't say no, and thought to himself how he probably wouldn't be able to say no to her ever again. He pulled up a near by chair and sat down. She held his hand and was knocked out before he could say anything else to her. He decided to stay a while, being comfortable in knowing she was close by. He leaned on her bed and rested his head on his other arm. Before he knew it he was fast asleep, their fingers still intertwined.

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><p>Happy ending Yay :D I didn't have the heart to kill anyone, I love the characters too much. But I did think I needed to be realistic with the injuries and what happened to Cindy. The whole truck accident is actually based off of what happened to my friend. The same thing happened with a truck's breaks failing and hitting her in the intersection ( she's okay though :) ) Also, I don't mean a truck as in a pick up truck, I mean a tractor trailer. Please review, I always love to get feedback on what you liked didn't like to improve my writing.

Terminology:

Intubate: When someone can't breathe and they insert a tube down their throat to clear the way for air.

OR: Operating room

CAT scan: Creates images of inside of the body in the same way of an X ray, it can check for bleeding in the brain.

Coding: Referring to code blue, when a person needs immediate resuscitation, most often after suffering cardiac arrest.

Shock Paddles: Send electric energy to the heart in order to restart it. They say clear to make sure no one is touching the victim so they don't get shocked as well.

I think I got all of them, if not message me. :)


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